Resonant Consulting

R&D and innovation are key to growth, both for Canada’s economy and for our individual businesses. Investing in development carries risk in that the costs are immediate, yet the potential returns are delayed. The dilemma is that when growth is most sorely needed, funding for development can be difficult to find. Fortunately, even during the lean times, Canada is funding your growth. Unfortunately, many do not take advantage.

Development and innovation are organic processes. You can’t fund successful innovation alone. Each success is built upon the shoulders of countless failed experiments. SR&ED, Canada’s $4 Billion per year incentive program, is targeted at companies that perform either Scientific Research or Experimental Development, regardless of success.

More information can be found in our SR&ED section.

Practically every company that has staff working on development or manufacturing performs work that is eligible. Many technology companies receive a cash refund every year from CRA equal to 30-50% of their entire development budget. However, many companies don’t know about the program or underestimate their eligibility and choose not to file.

SR&ED doesn’t fund only successful or revolutionary innovation. In fact, innovation or novelty aren’t even required. The program was founded in the 1980s as a way to provide incentive for doing development work in Canada. There is no application or approval process; the eligible costs are claimed on your corporate T2.

If you perform the work, you can bank on the refund every year. Very likely your company has already been earning this incentive. Have you claimed it? It’s easy to start, and you can retroactively claim for last year as well.

Contact us now if you have questions or would like to access the refund that you’ve already earned.

The Canadian government is providing significant funding to manufacturers through the SR&ED Program. As Canada’s largest Business Incentive program, it distributes over $4 Billion per year in tax credits and cash refunds to companies performing work in Canada. Manufacturers who do any work to improve their product design, workflow, infrastructure, environmental impact, or IT systems receive significant SR&ED funding each year. Are you claiming your refund?

Manufacturing Success with the SR&ED Incentive Program

The philosophy is simple. Canada is providing a no-strings incentive for Canadian and foreign businesses to perform their work in Canada. Since the ’80s, the SR&ED program has provided tens of billions of dollars in incentives to encourage growth in all sectors of Canadian business. There is no application process and the funding does not run out. The credits are claimed on your corporate T2 filing. If you perform eligible work, you are guaranteed the refund by law.

The criteria for funding is quite specific, but applies very broadly to businesses doing nearly any manufacturing or development. Essentially, any work that requires experimentation in order to improve or extend a product, process, methodology, or system is eligible for significant refund. Laboratory experimental procedures are not required. The work you are already doing will likely meet the criteria. What many companies think of as ‘routine development’ or ‘trial and error’ is actually SR&ED eligible. Visit out our Determining Eligibility page for more information.

Laboratory experimental procedures are not required… What many companies think of as ‘routine development’ or ‘trial and error’ is actually SR&ED eligible.

A great many manufacturers take advantage of the SR&ED program and receive annual refund cheques amounting to 30-50% of their R&D budget. Unfortunately, many companies are waylaid by common SR&ED Myths which cause them to significantly underestimate their eligibility and the amount of refund money they have already earned. Don’t allow misinformation to prevent you from accessing your refund.

The size of your refund will be dependent on the amount of costs you incur in order to do your SR&ED work. Our SR&ED experts can give you a detailed assessment of your eligibility. If you would like a quick estimate, check out our SR&ED Refund Estimator which can give you a rough idea of the size of the refund cheque you should expect each year. Don’t forget that you can retroactively file for last year. There is a deadline for this, so it’s best not to delay.

To those new to the program, SR&ED can seem daunting. Navigating the SR&ED maze alone can take a significant time commitment just to figure out how it can benefit your company, let alone the time required to learn how to claim SR&ED. Adding to the problem is that the eligibility of work done is often underestimated by a very large factor. These combine to have a double-effect on the cost/benefit of the SR&ED program. Frequently those filing for themselves will spend far too much time and claim for far less than they are eligible.

With The Resonant Advantage, our SR&ED experts do all the work to maximize your claim, while you stay focused on growing your business. Your time commitment will be reduced to a handful of hours, and you risk nothing with our contingency-based fee. This makes filing for SR&ED a highly profitable new annual revenue stream.

Contact us if you have any questions about the program, or if you would like to have a quick chat with one of our SR&ED experts about how the program can benefit your company.

Please visit our new SR&ED refund estimate calculator! With this tool, you can get an idea of the size of the SR&ED refund which is waiting for you to claim. Don’t forget that you can retroactively file for last year and receive double your refund. The deadline for last year is approaching though, make sure you don’t lose your refund forever.

Example estimate of the SR&ED refund for a 10-15 member teamperforming typical development work.

Beware of one of the most common SR&ED Myths: underestimating your eligibility. Most underestimate the eligibility of their work by a wide margin. The SR&ED criteria apply to a broad range of development in all sectors. Whether you engage in manufacturing, green technology, information technology, agriculture, or other work where you create or improve a product, process, or technique, you will be eligible for a significant SR&ED refund each year.

Use our estimate calculator to view your refund under a wide range of eligibility. Contact Resonant Consulting to arrange a quick meeting to get a better understanding of how your ‘routine development’ is earning you a significant refund each year.

Technology companies across Canada regularly perform work which qualifies for funding from the $4 Billion per year SR&ED program. Bleeding edge technological advancement is not required. Much of what your company might consider ‘routine development’ is actually eligible.

While SR&ED eligibility is not limited to the information technology sector (development in other sectors, such as GreenTech, Medical, Manufacturing, and Telecom is also eligible), frequently IT companies see the greatest portion of their work eligible for SR&ED credits. It is not uncommon for an IT company to receive an annual refund cheque equal to 30-50% of their entire development operating budget.

IT companies performing the following types of work in Canada are elligible for significant funding from the SR&ED program:

• development of new software products
• integration of sub-components into a system
• the porting or retrofitting of legacy software
• New Media development
• development of software as services
• web development
• Search Engine Optimization and web analytics
• development of device drivers or firmware
• hardware development
• etc…

As you can see, nearly every type of development can qualify for SR&ED funding. Whether you build video games, websites, corporate data reports engines, or iPhone apps, you are doing work for which Canada is paying you.

Many incorrectly assume that they won’t qualify for a refund due to some common SR&ED Myths. Don’t be fooled into thinking that your work won’t qualify, that the rewards aren’t worth the effort, or that your lack of taxes owing will prevent you from getting a sizable refund cheque each year.

Even if you do choose to file, doing so yourself can be a lengthy and complicated process where your best technical resources are tied up in acquiring the refund you’ve already earned. Quite often, those who do file for themselves have trouble understanding the nuances of the tax law, and wind up significantly underestimating the portion of their work that is eligible.

With The Resonant Advantage, you can stay focused on growing your business while our SR&ED experts maximize your refund. As a bonus, first time filers can retroactively file for the previous year’s SR&ED and get two cheques their first year. There is a deadline to file before the SR&ED credits you’ve earned permanently expire, so contact us today to get started!

Even if you owe no taxes, with the SR&ED Program, you can cut your development expenses by 30-50%. Of the costs related to eligible work, a Canadian Controlled Private Corporation can expect to receive an annual refund cheque amounting to the sum of:

• Nearly 70% of salaries
• Over 40% of contractor fees
• Over 20% of equipment costs

Canada provides over $4 Billion per year in incentives to keep foreign and domestic businesses working in Canada. Nearly every company which performs development or manufacturing qualifies for significant annual tax credits. For most corporations those credits are refunded in cash.

Many companies underestimate their eligibility, mistakenly assume that their tax situation does not qualify for a cash refund, or worry that the filing process is too daunting to be worthwhile. These companies have fallen prey to common SR&ED Myths and are missing out on a reliable annual revenue stream.

With The Resonant Advantage, the process is simple; our SR&ED experts do all the work. The first claim usually requires only a handful of hours on the part of the client. Subsequent claims are even further streamlined, so that your SR&ED refund seems almost to surprise you every year. As a bonus, first-time filers can retroactively claim for the previous year (don’t miss the deadline!). Very likely there are two cheques waiting for you to claim.

What about the risk? Even the most risk-averse see SR&ED as a sure-thing. There is no approval process, the funds do not run out. Your annual refund is guaranteed for as long as you do the eligible work. Major financial institutions will even lend against the SR&ED credits accrued mid-year. Finally, Resonant’s fees are entirely contingent upon your successful claim. With a 100% filing success rate, we are confident in your successful claim, and defer our percentage-based fee until after you receive your refund cheque.

Contact us today to access the funds you have already earned!